Platform-wheel.



l. H. CARR.

PLATFORM WHEEL,

APPLICATION FILED MAY ze, I9I3.

Patented May 11, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. H. CARR.

PLATFORM WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2e. IIII'I.

l 395,169., Pnntd May 11, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. -ZCIQ 3b generally simplify'and lighten the construc- UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

Jona n. cena, or ALHAMBRA, ALlFpnNm.

- rLArFonM-wnnnn maaien.

To all whom it may concern.' l

Beit known that I, JOHN H. CARn, a citizen pf the United States, hambra, in-.the county of.- LosAngeles and State of Cal'fornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platform- Wheels, .of which the followingvis a full, clear,'and exact specification. y This invention relates to platform wheels, that is wheels for wagons, traction engines andlother vehicles .employing endless flexi- 'ble platfcrrns or tracks on which the wheels proper moveand which 'progress with the wheels.

One object of the presentinvention is to tion of such wheels as heretofore made.

Another o bJect 1s, to provide a wheel of the character described which may be use on self-propelled vehicles and be driven' throughl the endless flexible track er plat-i may also be employed where the ffm, and supports the load and is cairwheel simply 'ried along with a vehicle which is ,drawn or. driven through some .other agency than the' wheel itself.

i plat 30 A,further object is to materially increase the extent' of the bearing surface Vof the form or trackon the road. i v

-Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds. i

The invention -will be first hereinafter described in connection with the accom- '-1 pa'nying drawings, which constitute a partA of this specification, and then more particularly7 set. forth in the claims at the endjof l the description.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters are used throughout the several views 'to indicate corresponding parts; Figure 1 is a plan View of the body of a self-propelled ve-l hicle with the. wheels and driving mechanism therefor being shown diagrammatically in broken lines; 2 is a side elevation of the structure indicated in Fig. 6;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken sideielevation of one of the Wheels and a portion of its track as illustrated in Figs. l and 2, the track beine'- shown partly in central section;

4 is an edge view of thewheel as illus- Fig. 45; Fig. 5is aninner plan view of a Specification of Letters Patent.

residing at Ald sprocket 13 pf the driving mechanism,

4spectively, in order to 'brasile wheel 1?.'

` trated in Fig'.

part nf this track Fi 6 is a view similar to Vlg, l of a modie construction; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of this last mentioned modification; Fig. 8 is an enlarged broken side elevation ofa pair of the wheels of this and a portion of their track Patented May 11, 19.15. Application med ma' 26, me anni no. '369,912.-

section; Fig. 9: is an edge'view of the wheel as ill'nstrated in Fig. 8, the track being.

shpwnin'transverse -section;.,Fig. 10 is an' inner plan View of a part of this track, and

Fig. 11 a sectlon onthe line {Lf-Jy of Fi s. e .'eferring rst to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive,

la deslgnates a platform wheel especially adapted for beingdriven through the mesu, Qf t e whic in 't is lnstance is passed over dtihe a'- gramrnatically shown. FlangeV idlers 13a and 13.*?4 may be placed "slightly to the rear. and -above and below the sprocket 13, re-

` hold the endless to a curve of suicient radius to insure easyl passage ,around said sprocket which is usually much smaller than the 'libe wheel 1a s rong spree et teeth or cogs 14, Ywhich like t e teeth pf the 'sprocket 18 lare designed to engage sl ts in links 5a connecting the shoes-4P. These shoes are preferably formed ith .tonga and groeve ends and are inged toge her` by the same pins` or bolts endless platform or track 3* is equipped .with

.6?, which 'pivotal'ly Connect said links t0 the shoes. U shaped, as clearly 'shown 1 n Flg. 9, and the -shoes .mayl be made with steel 'casings 8a sides. These casof hard wood or The sides of the at the sides of the' 4, for the purpose of' -The sides-fof'each of The wheel may be slightly crownreceive the linksy which should -t closely at the bottom inorder to transmit the load from the wheel to the shoes without throwingpany bending stress on the hingepin..

In view of the fact that any standard selfdriving mechanism may be used, it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate 'or describe also of standard make, and that the shaft on which the wheels 1a' are secured may be cut in two, so that the difference in speed in turning corners may be taken care of as I will be readily understood.

Referring now to Figs. 6 toll, inclusive, an arrangement is there illustrated whereby the load may be divided equally between two wheels over which a single endless track or platform is passed. The wheels 1b may be equipped with cogs 14" to engage slots 15b in links 5b connecting shoes 4b inthe same manner as already described in reference to the structure illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10.` In this instance, however, the lateral flanges lbof the shoes do not overlap, but the links have flanges 19, which bridge the spaces between the ends of said flanges on the shoes. It will be observed that this arrangement of passing the endless trackor platform around two wheels greatly increases the extent of the bearing surface of said track or platform on the road. In this form of my invention, the shoes are preferably made fiat on the bottom, 'while inthe other two forms, they are made curved endwise sofas to bring them more smoothly into engagement with the ground. To preventthe track 3b from bending in between the wheels, one or more idlers 2O are interposed, as shown vclearly in Figs. 7, 8 and 11. These idlers are supported 4by brackets 21 which are strong enough to sustainthe load alone if required by sudden rises or hollows in the road, but normally the idlers are set a little above the lower line of the track, as best shown in Figs8 and 9.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a' structure of the character described, the combination with a rotary member having projections on its periphery, of an endless track'loosely surrounding the rotary member and consisting of a series of shoes, links pivotally connecting. said shoesitogether, ends of adj acent links being attached to the middle portions of each shoe by a common pivot, permitting the ends of said shoes to'swing free ofthe links, each of said links having a slot arranged midway between its ends and adapted to be en gaged by said projections on the rotary member, said projections being suitably spaced lon the rotary member to successively engage the slot'in one link after another in rotation.

2. In a structure of the character described, the combination with a rotary member, of an endless track loosely surrounding the rotary member and consisting of a series of shoes connected together by links,

each shoe having an outer shell of metal and i an inner lling of wood, 'the metal shells being U-shaped in cross section with'their sides adapted to overlap the rim of the rotary member for positioning the track thereon, the wood fillings having longitudinal channels to house the links, and pivot pins passed through the sides of the metal casings and wood fillings of the shoes for connecting said ends of the links together in said channels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

JOHN H. CARR.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE V. GRAHAM, E. L. MCLEAN. 

